JP2009179885A - Amorphous carbon film forming apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a technology capable of forming amorphous carbon films at a low cost. <P>SOLUTION: An amorphous carbon film forming apparatus is characterized by being provided with a film forming furnace 11; a plurality of workpiece fixtures 23 for supporting a plurality of plate-like workpieces 22 in a state that the same are piled up vertically in parallel with the interval between facing surfaces of two vertically adjoining of the plate-like workpieces 22 being in a range of 2 to 30 millimeters, the plurality of workpiece fixtures 23 being annularly arranged within the furnace chamber of the film forming furnace 11 at equal intervals and being connected to a negative electrode; nozzles 31, 32 provided for supplying a supply gas, one or more of which are disposed in the centers of the annularly disposed workpiece fixtures 23, the rest being annularly disposed at equal intervals on the centrifugal side; and a plasma power supply 16 connected to at least the workpiece fixture 23. Since the plurality of plate-like workpieces are vertically supported in a piled-up state to the workpiece fixtures, a film forming area remarkably increases. Further, the ununiformity of a film distribution and a film composition distribution is suppressed, and uniform film forming can be performed to all the plate-like workpieces. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2009,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to an amorphous carbon film forming apparatus using a plasma CVD method.

  Carbon is an extremely excellent material from the viewpoint of resource problems and environmental problems because the amount of burying is almost infinite and harmless. Carbon materials have various bond forms between atoms, and various crystal structures such as diamond, diamond-like carbon, graphite, fullerene, and carbon nanotube are known. Among them, diamond-like carbon, which is an amorphous carbon film, has excellent mechanical properties such as wear resistance and solid lubricity, and has conductivity, visible / infrared light transmittance, low dielectric constant, oxygen barrier properties, and the like. It attracts attention as a functional material and is expected to be applied to various industrial fields.

  Diamond-like carbon (DLC) has an amorphous crystal structure, and amorphous carbon is usually formed on the substrate by chemical vapor deposition (CVD). It is obtained on the substrate surface in the deposited state. As a chemical vapor synthesis method, as disclosed in Patent Document 1, a parallel plate type plasma CVD method using glow discharge generated by applying high-frequency power between two electrodes facing each other is generally used. Specifically, by applying high frequency power between a high frequency power supply electrode on which a substrate is disposed and a ground electrode facing in parallel with the high frequency power supply electrode, glow discharge occurs between them. Using this glow discharge, the source gas (methane, ethylene, etc.) introduced between the electrodes is decomposed, and a DLC thin film is deposited on the substrate.

  However, when a DLC thin film is formed on a plurality of substrates in a batch by the above method, the plurality of substrates must be arranged side by side on the high-frequency power supply electrode. An electrode is required. Furthermore, it is technically difficult to form a film over a large area, and there is a possibility that the film thickness and film composition of the DLC thin film are not uniform for each substrate.

  As another form, in a PVD apparatus that forms a film on the surface of a cylindrical substrate, it is necessary to rotate the substrate in order to form a film on the entire surface of the cylindrical substrate. It will be expensive. It is also conceivable that a rotation mechanism for rotating the base body may cause a failure of the apparatus. Furthermore, it is conceivable that the rotation of the substrate is eccentric. In such a case, a thin film having a uniform film thickness, composition, etc. cannot be obtained.

JP-A-6-256957

  The present invention has been made to solve the above problems, and an object thereof is to provide a technique for efficiently forming an amorphous carbon film at a low cost.

  An amorphous carbon film forming apparatus of the present invention is an amorphous carbon film forming apparatus for forming an amorphous carbon film on the surface of a conductive plate workpiece by plasma CVD, and includes a film forming furnace and a plate workpiece. A plurality of workpiece fixtures that are stacked in parallel and in the vertical direction are arranged in a ring shape at equal intervals in the furnace chamber of the film forming furnace, and are arranged in a ring shape. A nozzle configured to include at least one center of the workpiece fixture and a plurality of rings arranged in a ring shape at equal intervals on the centrifugal direction side, and a plasma power source connected to at least the workpiece fixture It is characterized by comprising.

  In the amorphous carbon film forming apparatus of the present invention, it is preferable that the interval between the opposing surfaces of the two plate-like workpieces adjacent in the vertical direction is 2 to 30 mm. Further, it is desirable that the work fixture has a rod-like holder that holds at least a part of the plate-like work. Preferably, the work fixture has at least three rod-like holders, and the plate-like work is held by at least three places by the holders. Further, the plate-like workpiece is preferably in a ring shape, and the inner and / or outer portion of the ring-like plate-like workpiece is preferably held by the workpiece fixture. The plate-like workpiece is preferably a clutch plate.

  According to the amorphous carbon film forming apparatus of the present invention, since a plurality of plate-like workpieces are held in a stacked state in the vertical direction on the work fixture, the film forming area is greatly increased and efficient film formation is achieved. Is possible. In addition, a plurality of workpieces can be processed with a single film formation, and an efficient film formation is possible.

  The film forming apparatus having the above configuration does not need to rotate the workpiece, and therefore does not require a rotation mechanism, has a simple structure, and is low in cost. Furthermore, the arrangement of the work fixture and the nozzle for supplying the processing gas is the above-described arrangement, so that the distribution of the processing gas is improved, and an amorphous carbon film having good film quality with no variation in film thickness and film composition is obtained. It is done. That is, with this configuration, non-uniform distribution of film distribution and film composition can be suppressed, and an amorphous carbon film can be uniformly formed on all plate-like workpieces.

It is a schematic explanatory drawing of the film-forming apparatus of an amorphous carbon film. FIG. 2 is a schematic explanatory view of an amorphous carbon film forming apparatus and is a cross-sectional view taken along the line X-X ′ of FIG. 1. It is sectional drawing of the cathode of the amorphous carbon film-forming apparatus of Examples 1-4 and the comparative example 1, and a gas supply means. FIG. 4 is a partially enlarged view of the amorphous carbon film forming apparatus of Examples 1 to 4 and Comparative Example 1, and is a view of the Y-Y ′ cross section of FIG. 3 as viewed from above. It is explanatory drawing of the workpiece fixing tool of the film-forming apparatus of the amorphous carbon film of Example 5, Comprising: (II) is a partial expanded sectional view in ZZ 'of (I) which shows the jig | tool which fixed the plate-shaped workpiece. It is. It is a figure which shows the plate-shaped workpiece | work of the film-forming apparatus of the amorphous carbon film of Example 5. FIG. It is explanatory drawing of the workpiece fixing tool of the film-forming apparatus of the amorphous carbon film of Example 6, Comprising: (I) is explanatory drawing of the workpiece fixing tool which fixed the plate-shaped workpiece, (II) is WW of (I). It is sectional drawing in '. It is a schematic diagram of the workpiece fixing tool of Example 6, Comprising: It is explanatory drawing of the procedure which fixes a plate-shaped workpiece. It is the figure which showed the mode of the glow discharge of Example 1 typically. It is the figure which showed the mode of the glow discharge of Example 2 typically. It is the figure which showed the mode of the glow discharge of Example 3 typically. It is the figure which showed the mode of the glow discharge of Example 4 typically. It is the figure which showed typically the mode of the glow discharge of the comparative example 1. FIG. It is a graph which shows an example of the relationship between process gas pressure and sheath width in the film-forming method of an amorphous carbon film. It is a schematic diagram in the case of fixing a plate-shaped workpiece to the workpiece fixture in the left-right direction. It is the figure which showed typically the press apparatus used for the hot press performed in each Example, Comprising: It is sectional drawing of the state which set the plate-shaped workpiece. It is a graph which shows distortion of the plate-shaped workpieces of Examples 1-4 and Example 6. It is a graph which shows the distortion of the plate-shaped workpiece of Example 5. FIG. 5 is a diagram schematically showing distortion caused by the film forming operation of an amorphous carbon film, and when viewed from directly above when a plate-like workpiece is laminated in the thickness direction (however, only one piece is shown). It is sectional drawing (upper figure) at the time of seeing, and sectional drawing (lower figure) at the time of seeing from right side.

  Hereinafter, an embodiment of the amorphous carbon film forming apparatus of the present invention will be described.

[Method of forming amorphous carbon film]
Prior to the description of the amorphous carbon film forming apparatus of the present invention, an amorphous carbon film forming method will be described. The amorphous carbon film is formed by a plasma CVD method (more specifically, a direct current plasma CVD method, a high frequency plasma CVD method, etc.) that forms an amorphous carbon film on the surface of a conductive plate-like workpiece. This is a film forming method.

In the plasma CVD method, glow discharge is generated by applying electric power between two electrodes. Using this glow discharge, the processing gas introduced between the electrodes is separated, and a thin film is deposited on the negative potential side electrode (plate-shaped workpiece). The processing gas is one of at least one of a diluent gas such as hydrogen and argon, a hydrocarbon gas such as methane, ethylene, acetylene, and benzene, and tetramethylsilane (TMS: Si ( It is desirable that it is a mixed gas with a source gas composed of at least one of Si-containing gases such as CH ₃ ) ₄ ), silane, and SiCl ₄ .

  The material of the plate workpiece is not particularly limited as long as it has conductivity. There is no particular limitation on the shape of the plate-like workpiece, and it may be a flat plate shape, a disk shape, a ring shape, or a clutch plate used as a part of an automobile or the like. The thickness of the plate-like workpiece does not affect the sheath width, but is 0.4 to 4 mm, more preferably 0.7 to 1 mm.

  The plate-like work is fixed to a work fixture that is disposed in the film forming furnace and connected to the negative electrode. The work fixing tool connected to the negative pole is fixed so that at least a part of the conductive plate-shaped work comes into contact.

  The sheath width is set to be equal to or less than the interval between two opposing plate-like workpieces (workpiece interval). If the sheath width is equal to or smaller than the workpiece interval, glow discharge can be performed uniformly along the outer surface of the workpiece fixture and the plate workpiece with the width of the sheath, and an amorphous carbon film can be formed on both surfaces of the plate workpiece. When the sheath width is equal to or larger than the workpiece interval, the discharge becomes strong locally during film formation, and the glow discharge becomes unstable, so that suitable film formation cannot be performed.

  Here, the “sheath” generally refers to a region where light emission is weak from the cathode surface to the negative glow. In the sheath, a rapid potential drop occurs, and positive ions are accelerated toward the cathode and collide. Electrons are emitted by this collision, and the emitted electrons (secondary electrons) are accelerated by the potential gradient of the sheath and enter the negative glow region, ionizing gas molecules. The light emission of the sheath is weak because the secondary electrons accelerated by the voltage applied between the negative and positive electrodes (or the potential drop described above) have enough kinetic energy to sufficiently excite the gas molecules. This is because there is not. That is, the “sheath width” in the present specification is the width of a weak light emission region from the plate-like work and the work fixture to the negative glow.

  The plurality of plate-like workpieces are preferably arranged in a laminated state in the thickness direction of the plate-like workpiece within a range of 2 to 30 mm between the opposing surfaces of two plate-like workpieces that are adjacent in parallel. If the distance between the plate-like workpieces is 2 mm or less, the glow discharge may become unstable, and thus suitable film formation cannot be performed. On the other hand, when the thickness is 30 mm or more, stable glow discharge can be obtained, but the number of plate-like workpieces that can be fixed to the workpiece fixing tool is reduced, which is not suitable for mass processing. The distance between the opposing surfaces of the two plate-like workpieces is more preferably 3 to 20 mm, and further preferably 5 to 15 mm.

  The shape of the work fixture is not particularly limited as long as it is in contact with at least a part of each plate-like workpiece and can be arranged in a laminated state in the thickness direction in parallel. Therefore, the work fixture may be of any form, such as a form in which the plate-like work is fixed in parallel in the vertical direction of the film forming furnace, or a form in which the plate work is fixed in the left-right direction. Moreover, as a method of fixing the plate-like workpiece to the workpiece fixture, if the plate-like workpiece is a disc shape, the outer peripheral portion of the plate-like workpiece is fixed to the workpiece fixture. Furthermore, if the plate-like workpiece is a ring shape Examples include a method of fixing the inner part and / or the outer part of the ring to a work fixture. For example, if a plate-like workpiece is fixed to a cylindrical workpiece fixture so that the inner part of the ring-shaped plate-like workpiece is in contact with the whole (see FIGS. 3 and 4), the discharge area of glow discharge is reduced. Less power is required. Further, when the plate-like workpiece is fixed so as to be partially held on a workpiece fixture consisting of a plurality of rod-like holders (see FIGS. 5 and 7), the flow of the processing gas becomes good and the resulting amorphous material is obtained. The composition of the carbon film becomes more uniform.

  FIG. 15 shows an example in which a plate-like workpiece is fixed to the workpiece fixture in parallel in the left-right direction of the film forming furnace. Ring-shaped plate-like workpieces are suspended at equal intervals on a rod-like workpiece fixture extending in the left-right direction.

  And the range of process gas pressure is adjusted to 13-1330 Pa, More preferably, it is 66.5-1064 Pa, More preferably, it is 266-798 Pa so that a sheath width may be 2-30 mm below plate-shaped work space | interval.

  FIG. 14 is a graph showing the relationship between the processing gas pressure and the sheath width in the amorphous carbon film forming method. In this graph, as an example, a mixed gas of CH 4, Ar, H 2, and TMS is used as a processing gas at a film forming temperature of 500 ° C. When the processing gas pressure is less than 13 Pa, the sheath width becomes wider than 30 mm, and it is necessary to widen the interval between the plate-like workpieces. Therefore, the number of plate-like workpieces that can be fixed to the workpiece fixture is reduced and large-scale processing cannot be performed. . On the other hand, if the processing gas pressure is high, the glow tends to become unstable, and if it is 1330 Pa or higher, it is difficult to keep the glow discharge uniform.

  The film formation temperature may be any temperature condition generally used when forming an amorphous carbon film by plasma CVD. Desirably, the film forming temperature is set to 30 to 50 ° C. below the workpiece quenching / tempering temperature or below the transformation temperature. More specifically, it is preferably 450 to 630 ° C, more preferably 500 to 600 ° C. Here, the film formation temperature is the temperature at the surface of the plate-like workpiece.

  Since the workpiece fixture and plate workpiece having the above-described configuration discharge along the plate workpiece when a voltage is applied from the plasma power source, glow discharge occurs for each plate workpiece, and amorphous carbon is formed on both sides of the plate workpiece. A film can be formed.

  The film forming furnace has a cylindrical furnace chamber, the work fixture is coaxially arranged with the furnace chamber in a ring shape, and a plurality of cylindrical nozzles for supplying processing gas are coaxial with the furnace chamber. In particular, they are arranged in a ring shape at equal intervals on the centrifugal direction side of the work fixture. At the same time, it is desirable that one or more nozzles be arranged in the vertical direction at the center of the furnace chamber. The nozzle for supplying the processing gas may be arranged inside the workpiece fixture in addition to the centrifugal direction of the workpiece fixture.

  Next, the pre-correction process and the post-correction process will be described.

  Since the plate-like workpiece is usually sheared by punching after rolling and processed into an arbitrary shape, residual stress is generated by the processing. When the amorphous carbon film is formed by the plasma CVD method, the residual stress of the plate-like workpiece is released by the heat at the time of film formation, so that the plate-like workpiece is warped or distorted and deforms.

  Further, in the formation of an amorphous carbon film by the plasma CVD method, the plate-like workpiece is deformed during the film formation due to the weight of the plate-like workpiece in addition to the heat during the film formation. In particular, plate-like workpieces stacked in the vertical direction are easily deformed. For example, FIGS. 19A and 19B are cross-sectional views of the disc-shaped plate-like workpieces 2a and 2b and the workpiece fixtures 3a and 3b to which the plate-like workpiece is fixed, as an example (upper view). And a cross-sectional view (below) viewed from the side. Note that FIG. 19 shows only one plate-like workpiece for explanation, but a plurality of plate-like workpieces are stacked in the thickness direction (that is, the vertical direction). In A, the central portion of the plate-like workpiece 2a is sandwiched and fixed by the workpiece fixture 3a, but the outer peripheral portion that is not fixed is deformed in the direction of the arrow by the weight of the plate-like workpiece during film formation. As a result, the plate-like workpiece 2a is distorted in an umbrella shape as indicated by 2a '. In B, the outer periphery of the plate-like workpiece 2b is placed on a workpiece fixture 3b composed of three rod-like holders, but the central portion is in the direction of the arrow due to the weight of the plate-like workpiece during film formation. Transforms into As a result, the plate-like workpiece 2b is distorted in a dish shape as indicated by 2b '.

  And since deformation due to the release of residual stress and deformation due to its own weight occur in the plate-shaped workpiece at the same time during film formation, the plate-shaped workpiece after film formation has irregular shapes such as irregularities and folds. May be distorted.

  Therefore, in order to suppress and remove distortion generated during film formation, correction may be performed before or after the film formation operation of the amorphous carbon film.

  In the pre-correction step, the plate-like workpiece is hot-pressed at a temperature equal to or higher than the film-forming temperature and lower than the transformation temperature of the plate-like workpiece before the amorphous carbon film is formed. Residual stress of the plate-like workpiece generated by processing can be relaxed by hot pressing in a temperature range not lower than the film forming temperature and lower than the transformation temperature. As a result, it is possible to suppress the distortion of the plate-like workpiece that occurs when the residual stress is released. In addition, the generation of strain due to the synergistic effect of the release of the residual stress and gravity can be effectively suppressed. Further, if the pre-correction step is performed at a temperature equal to or higher than the transformation temperature of the plate workpiece, the residual stress of the plate workpiece is relaxed, but this is not appropriate because the structure of the plate workpiece is changed. The film forming temperature and the hot press temperature are temperatures on the surface of the plate-like workpiece.

  There is no particular limitation on the material of the plate workpiece, but it is preferably made of a steel material such as carbon steel. In the case of a plate-like workpiece made of carbon steel, hot pressing is preferably performed as a pre-correction step at 600 ° C. or more and 700 ° C. or less, more preferably 630 ° C. or more and 680 ° C. or less. If the temperature of the hot press exceeds 700 ° C., the case may exceed the transformation temperature of carbon steel, which is not preferable. If the temperature is lower than 600 ° C., the residual stress may not be sufficiently released, and it is difficult to obtain a preferable correction effect. The optimum value for the hot press molding temperature is 650 ° C.

  In the pre-correction step, a conventionally used press device may be used. Also, the hot press atmosphere is not particularly limited.

  The post-correction step is to hot press a plate-like workpiece having an amorphous carbon film formed on the surface thereof at a temperature lower than the film forming temperature of the amorphous carbon film after the film forming operation of the amorphous carbon film. By performing the post-correction process at a temperature lower than the film formation temperature, the distortion generated by releasing the residual stress of the plate-like workpiece caused by processing and the distortion generated by its own weight can be obtained without degrading the amorphous carbon film. Can be removed. Hot pressing beyond the film formation temperature is not preferable because the amorphous carbon film may be oxidized or may be peeled off or cracked. The film forming temperature and the hot press temperature are temperatures on the surface of the plate-like workpiece.

  There is no particular limitation on the material of the plate workpiece, but it is preferably made of a steel material such as carbon steel. In the case of a plate-shaped workpiece made of carbon steel, hot pressing is desirably performed at 300 ° C. or more and 500 ° C. or less, more desirably 350 ° C. or more and 450 ° C. or less. If the temperature of the hot press is less than 300 ° C., the temperature is not sufficient to relieve the residual stress of the plate-like workpiece made of carbon steel, and it is difficult to obtain a preferable correction effect. Moreover, when it exceeds 500 degreeC, since there exists a possibility that peeling, a crack, oxidation, etc. may occur in an amorphous carbon film, it is not preferable. The optimum value of the hot press molding temperature is 400 ° C.

  In the post-correction process, a conventionally used press apparatus may be used. The atmosphere of hot pressing is not particularly limited. For example, even if hot pressing is performed in the air, the amorphous carbon film is not oxidized within the above temperature range.

  In addition, the pre-correction process and the post-correction process may be appropriately selected according to the film formation temperature and the material of the plate-shaped workpiece, and at least one of them may be performed. In addition, the pre-correction process and post-correction process are not only for distortion caused by residual stress and strain due to its own weight, but also for distortion caused by film thickness difference (distortion generated in a plate-like workpiece due to compressive stress from the amorphous carbon film). Demonstrate the effect of suppressing and removing distortion.

[Amorphous carbon film deposition system]
An amorphous carbon film forming apparatus of the present invention is an amorphous carbon film forming apparatus for forming an amorphous carbon film on the surface of a conductive plate workpiece by plasma CVD, and includes a film forming furnace and a plate workpiece. A workpiece fixture to be fixed, a nozzle for supplying a processing gas, and at least a plasma power source connected to the workpiece fixture.

  The film forming furnace is not particularly limited as long as it can be vacuum-tight, but preferably has a cylindrical furnace chamber.

  The material of the plate workpiece is not particularly limited as long as it has conductivity. The shape of the plate-like workpiece is not particularly limited, but a ring shape is desirable and a clutch plate may be used. The thickness of the plate-like workpiece does not affect the sheath width, but is 0.4 to 4 mm, more preferably 0.7 to 1 mm.

  The workpiece fixing tool holds a plurality of plate-like workpieces in a stacked state in the vertical direction, preferably in the range of 2 to 30 mm between the opposing surfaces of two plate-like workpieces adjacent in parallel in the vertical direction. When the distance between the plate-like workpieces is 2 mm or less, the sheath is too close to the local area and the glow discharge becomes unstable, so that suitable film formation cannot be performed. On the other hand, when the thickness is 30 mm or more, stable glow discharge can be obtained, but the number of plate-like workpieces that can be fixed to the workpiece fixture is reduced, which is not suitable for mass processing. The distance between the opposing surfaces of the two plate-like workpieces is more preferably 3 to 20 mm, and further preferably 5 to 15 mm.

  The method of fixing the plate-like workpiece to the workpiece fixture is also described in the section of [Method of depositing amorphous carbon film]. However, if a plurality of plate-like workpieces are held in a stacked state in the vertical direction, the form is particularly limited. There is no. For example, it is desirable that the workpiece fixture has a rod-like holder that holds at least a part of the plate-like workpiece. The size of the rod-shaped holder is not particularly limited, but if the plate-like workpiece is a ring shape, the inner portion of the ring may be fixed by a rod-shaped holder having a thickness about the inner diameter of the ring (see FIG. 3, see FIG. Further, the plate-like workpiece may be partially held by a plurality of rod-like holders. For example, if the plate-like workpiece is a disc shape, the workpiece fixture preferably has at least three rod-like holders, and the plate-like workpiece is preferably held by at least three places (FIGS. 5 and 5). 7). Furthermore, if the plate-shaped workpiece is ring-shaped, it is desirable that the inner portion and / or the outer portion of the ring-shaped plate-shaped workpiece be held by the workpiece fixture (holding tool). Further, the shape of the holder is not particularly limited as long as the plate-like workpiece can be held without dropping during film formation. As for the shape of the holder, a stepped part or a protruding part that allows a plurality of plate-like workpieces to be placed or sandwiched in parallel in the vertical direction, and the holder and the plate-like workpiece can be fitted and engaged with each other. It is good to have.

  A plurality of work fixtures are arranged in a ring shape at equal intervals in the furnace chamber of the film forming furnace. All work fixtures are connected to the negative pole. Since a part of the conductive plate-like workpiece is fixed to the workpiece fixture so as to contact, the plate-like workpiece is also connected to the negative electrode.

  One or more nozzles for supplying the processing gas are formed at the center of a work fixture arranged in a ring shape in the furnace chamber of the film forming furnace and a plurality arranged in a ring shape at equal intervals on the centrifugal direction side. . The nozzle arranged at the center may be used for a normal film forming apparatus, and is not particularly limited. For example, a ring gas nozzle having a plurality of downward gas supply holes installed above the work fixture, a cylindrical nozzle shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, one or more tubular nozzles arranged radially to supply gas, etc. preferable. Further, the nozzles arranged in a ring shape at equal intervals on the centrifugal direction side may also be used in a normal film forming apparatus, and are not particularly limited. However, a tubular nozzle having a plurality of holes on the side surface of the nozzle is preferable. At this time, it is desirable that the plate-like workpiece and the nozzle have an interval of 50 to 300 mm.

  The plasma power source is not particularly limited as long as it is a plasma power source used in a normal plasma CVD method. The plasma power source is connected to at least the work fixture and energizes the work fixture to the negative electrode.

  In addition, a temperature measuring means such as a thermocouple or an infrared radiation thermometer, a film thickness measuring means, or the like may be provided as appropriate.

  Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a schematic explanatory view of an amorphous carbon film forming apparatus, and FIG. 2 is an X-X ′ sectional view of the film forming apparatus of FIG. 1.

Example 1
The amorphous carbon film forming apparatus of this embodiment uses a cylindrical, stainless steel chamber 11 as a film forming furnace, and has an exhaust system 13 communicating with the chamber 11 through an exhaust passage 12. The exhaust system 13 includes an oil rotary pump, a mechanical booster pump, and an oil diffusion pump, and adjusts the processing pressure in the chamber 11 by opening and closing an exhaust adjustment valve 15 disposed in the exhaust passage 12. The chamber 11 is provided with a light transmission window 18, and the surface temperature of the workpiece 22 is measured through the light transmission window 18 using an infrared radiation thermometer (not shown).

  In the chamber 11, a cathode 20 and a gas supply means 30 that are energized to the negative electrode of the plasma power source 16 are disposed.

  The cathode 20 includes a support base 21 connected to the negative pole of the plasma power supply 16, five work fixtures 23 placed on the support base 21, and a plate-like work 22 fixed to each work fixture 23. It consists of.

  The disk-shaped support base 21 is made of carbon steel, and is fixed to the cathode 20 at the bottom of the chamber 11 coaxially with the cylindrical chamber 11.

  The plate-like workpiece 22 is made of carbon tool steel having a thickness of 0.9 mm and a diameter of 100 mm. The plate-like workpiece 22 has a ring shape shown in FIG. 4 and has internal teeth 221 on the inner peripheral surface thereof. The plate-like workpiece 22 is subjected to hot pressing in advance before being fixed to the workpiece fixture 53. The procedure will be described below.

  A plate-like workpiece 22 was set on the press apparatus 100 shown in FIG. The press device 100 includes a heating furnace (not shown) and a pedestal 101 and a weight 103 installed inside the heating furnace, and the weight 103 is pressed in the direction of the arrow by hydraulic pressure. The plate-like workpiece 22 was heated from room temperature to 650 ° C. in 0.5 hours in a heating furnace, and then subjected to hot pressing with a pressing load of 1 kg. After maintaining at 650 ° C. for 2 hours, it was cooled in the furnace for 0.5 hour.

  The five workpiece fixtures 23 are made of carbon steel, and are arranged in a ring shape at equal intervals on the support base 21 so as to be coaxial with the cylindrical chamber 11. The center of the work fixture 23 is arranged in a ring shape at equal intervals on a circumference of 40 cm in diameter from the center of the chamber 11.

  The work fixture 23 is supported on the support 21 and extends vertically, and a plurality of jigs 232 for fixing the plurality of plate-like works 22 in parallel and in a laminated state at equal intervals. (Fig. 3 and Fig. 4). The jig 232 is cylindrical and has a step 233 at one end of the circumferential surface. The step portion 233 has a step equal to the thickness of the plate-like workpiece 22 at a right angle in cross section, and the inner teeth 221 of the plate-like workpiece 22 can be fitted coaxially into the step portion 233.

  In order to fix the plate-like workpiece 22 to the workpiece fixture 23, first, the upper side of the fixed column 231 is inserted into the cylinder of the bottom unit 251, and the bottom unit 251 is moved downward along the fixed column 231 to provide a support base. The bottom tool 251 is installed on 21. Next, in the same manner as the bottom tool 251, the jig 232 into which the plate-like workpiece 22 is fitted by the above method is installed on the bottom tool 251. Thereafter, the same procedure is repeated to stack the jigs 232 until the desired number of plate-like workpieces 22 is obtained. When the desired number of plate-like workpieces 22 is reached, the head tool 252 is installed at the top.

  The interval between the opposing surfaces of the two plate-like workpieces 22 adjacent in the vertical direction was 30 mm. Here, the interval between the opposing surfaces of two adjacent plate-like workpieces 22 is a distance indicated by D in FIG. That is, the work interval is equal to the distance obtained by subtracting the height of the stepped portion 233 (that is, the thickness of the plate-like work 22) from the height of the jig 232. At this time, 35 plate-like workpieces 22 can be fixed to one workpiece fixture 23, and a total of 175 plate-like workpieces 22 are fixed in the apparatus.

  The gas supply means 30 supplies a mixed gas of a source gas and a dilution gas to the chamber 11 at a specified flow rate ratio. The mixed gas is adjusted in flow rate by a mass flow controller (MFC) 33 and then supplied into the chamber 11 through a gas supply valve 34 and a gas supply pipe 35. The gas supply pipe 35 branches into a central gas nozzle 31 and six surrounding gas nozzles 32 in the chamber 11. The gas nozzle 31 is installed so as to be located at the center of the chamber 11. Further, the six gas nozzles 32 are arranged in a ring shape at equal intervals on the centrifugal direction side of the work fixture 23 arranged in a ring shape. The gas nozzle 32 is disposed at a position 35 cm from the center of the chamber 11. A plurality of holes 311 and 321 are opened at equal intervals in the length direction of each gas nozzle 31 and 32. Further, the holes 311 are formed radially in the direction of the six gas valves 32.

  The positive electrode of the plasma power supply 16 is energized to the chamber 11. The positive electrode is grounded, and the wall surface of the chamber 11 serves as a ground electrode (anode).

  The amorphous carbon film was formed by operating the amorphous carbon film forming apparatus configured as described above. First, the exhaust system 13 evacuated the chamber 11 to a vacuum degree of 5 × 10 −3 Pa. Next, the gas supply valve 34 was opened, and the flow rates of methane gas, TMS gas, hydrogen gas, and argon gas as the source gas were adjusted by the MFC 33 and supplied to the chamber 11. Thereafter, the opening degree of the exhaust adjustment valve 15 was adjusted, and the processing pressure in the chamber 11 was set to 133 Pa.

  When a dilution gas composed of hydrogen and argon at a predetermined flow rate ratio was introduced into the chamber 11 and a predetermined processing pressure was secured, 9.5 kW was supplied to the cathode 20 from the plasma power source 16. When a voltage was applied, glow discharge was generated around the cathode 20, and the plate-like workpiece 22 was heated to 500 ° C. by this glow discharge. Subsequently, methane gas and TMS gas as raw material gases were supplied at a predetermined flow rate, and an amorphous carbon film was grown on the surface of the plate-like workpiece 22.

  In the apparatus of this example, a stable discharge was obtained with a sheath width of 25 mm. In addition, an amorphous carbon film having a thickness of 2 μm was obtained on the surface of the plate-like workpiece 22 by discharging for 30 minutes. The film thickness distribution of the obtained amorphous carbon film was uniform.

  Table 1 shows the conditions for forming the amorphous carbon film. Further, the state of glow discharge is shown in FIG. 9. In this figure, three plate-like workpieces 22 are fixed for explanation. A sheath 25 having a constant width was formed around the cathode 20. The sheath 25 was formed along the plate-like workpiece 22 while overlapping at the portion indicated by 26.

(Example 2)
In the film forming apparatus of Example 1, the work interval was set to 10 mm (plate work, total of 500 sheets). The gas pressure and sheath width during film formation are as shown in Table 1.

  In the apparatus of this example, stable discharge was obtained, and the film thickness distribution of the formed amorphous carbon film was uniform. FIG. 10 shows the state of glow discharge. In this figure, three plate-like workpieces 22 are fixed for explanation. A sheath 25 having a constant width was formed around the cathode 20.

(Example 3)
In the film forming apparatus of Example 1, the work interval was 3 mm (plate work, total 600 sheets). The gas pressure and sheath width during film formation are as shown in Table 1.

  In the apparatus of this example, stable discharge was obtained, and the film thickness distribution of the formed amorphous carbon film was uniform. The state of glow discharge is shown in FIG. 11. In this figure, three plate-like workpieces 22 are fixed for explanation. A sheath 25 having a constant width was formed around the cathode 20. In addition, in the part shown by 26, although the sheath 25 has overlapped, the discharge is kept stable and the sheath is formed along the plate-shaped workpiece 22.

Example 4
In the film forming apparatus of Example 1, the work interval was set to 2 mm (plate work, total of 750 sheets). The gas pressure and sheath width during film formation are as shown in Table 1. When the workpiece interval is 2 mm, a maximum of 2500 plate-like workpieces can be fixed in the apparatus. However, if the number of plate-like workpieces is too large, the plasma power output is insufficient and a sheath cannot be formed on the entire workpiece. It was a sheet.

  In the apparatus of this example, stable discharge was obtained, and the film thickness distribution of the formed amorphous carbon film was uniform. The state of glow discharge is shown in FIG. 12, in which three plate-like workpieces 22 are fixed for explanation. A sheath 25 having a constant width was formed around the cathode 20. In addition, in the part shown by 26, although the sheath 25 overlapped, the discharge was kept stable and the sheath was formed along the plate-shaped workpiece 22.

(Comparative Example 1)
In the film forming apparatus of Example 1, the work interval was set to 1 mm (plate-like work, total of 500 sheets). The gas pressure and sheath width during film formation are as shown in Table 1.

  In the apparatus of this example, glow discharge was locally strong and uniform discharge could not be obtained. The state of glow discharge is shown in FIG. 13. In this figure, three plate-like workpieces 22 are fixed for explanation. In this comparative example, since the sheath 25 is too close, only the outer peripheral portion of the plate-like workpiece indicated by 26 is locally overlapped and discharged, and the sheath is not formed along the plate-like workpiece 22.

(Example 5)
In the film forming apparatus of Example 1, the plate-like workpiece 22 and the workpiece fixture 23 of the cathode 20 were used as the plate-like workpiece 42 and the workpiece fixture 43 (FIG. 5) described below.

  In the present embodiment, the cathode 20 is fixed to the support base 21 connected to the negative pole of the plasma power source 16, the five work fixtures 43 placed on the support base 21, and the respective work fixtures 43. And a plate-like workpiece 42.

  The plate-like workpiece 42 is made of carbon tool steel having a thickness of 0.9 mm and a diameter of 100 mm. The plate-like workpiece 42 has a ring shape shown in FIG. 6 and has external teeth 421 on the outer peripheral surface thereof.

  The five workpiece fixtures 43 are made of carbon steel, and have three rod-like holders 430 including a support rod 431 and a jig 432 shown in FIG. The jig 432 has a cylindrical catch claw 433 having a protrusion on the outer peripheral surface and a cylindrical spacer 434. In FIG. 5, (I) does not show a plate-like workpiece for illustration, but (II) shows a jig 432 to which the plate-like workpiece is fixed. Further, (II) is a cross-sectional view taken along the line Z-Z ′ of (I), but any of the three holders has the same configuration. Nuts 453 (not shown) are screwed onto the three support rods 431 having one end fixed to the support base 21 so that the height from the support base 21 is the same. A disc-shaped bottom plate 451 having three through-holes in a ring shape is inserted into the through-hole and a support bar 431 is inserted into the through-hole, and the bottom plate 451 is held from below by a nut 453 so that the support bars 431 are equally spaced. And fix it coaxially. A bottom plate 451 and a top plate 452 having the same shape as a later-described bottom plate 451 serve as a support for the three support bars 431, and the interval between the support bars 431 is fixed.

  In order to fix the plate workpiece 42 to the workpiece fixture 43, first, the upper portions of the three support rods 431 are respectively inserted into the cylinders of the spacers 434, and the spacers 434 are moved downward along the support rods 431. Next, similarly to the spacer 434, the receiving claw 433 is installed on the spacer 434 so that the protruding portion faces the central axis of the bottom plate 451. Then, the external tooth 421 portion of the plate workpiece 42 is placed on the receiving claw 433. Thus, the plate-like workpiece 42 is placed on the receiving claws 433 provided at the same height positions of the respective support bars 431, and the external teeth 421 of the plate-like workpiece 42 are supported from below by the three receiving claws 433. Fixed in state. Thereafter, the same procedure is repeated to stack the jigs 432 until the desired number of plate workpieces 42 is obtained. When the desired number of plate workpieces 42 is reached, the spacer 434 is installed, and then the top plate 452 is installed at the top. The top plate 452 is fixed from above by nuts 453.

  The interval between the opposing surfaces of the two plate-like workpieces 42 adjacent in the vertical direction was 10 mm. At this time, 100 plate workpieces 42 can be fixed to one workpiece fixture 43, and a total of 500 plate workpieces 42 are fixed in the apparatus.

  An amorphous carbon film was formed in the same manner as in Example 1 by operating the amorphous carbon film forming apparatus having the above configuration. In the apparatus of this example, a sheath was formed along the plate-like workpiece 42, the sheath width was 5 mm, and stable discharge was obtained. The film thickness distribution of the obtained amorphous carbon film was uniform.

  The obtained plate workpiece 42 was hot pressed. A plate-like workpiece 42 was stacked and set on the press device 100 shown in FIG. The pressing device 100 includes a furnace (not shown) and a pedestal 101 and a weight 103 installed inside the temperature raising furnace, and the weight 103 is pressed in the direction of the arrow by hydraulic pressure. The plate-like workpiece 42 was heated from room temperature to 400 ° C. in 0.3 hours in a heating furnace, and then subjected to hot pressing with a pressing load of 1 kg. After maintaining at 400 ° C. for 2 hours, it was cooled in the furnace for 0.3 hours.

(Example 6)
In the film forming apparatus of Example 1, the workpiece fixture 23 was a workpiece fixture 53 (FIGS. 7 and 8) described below.

  In the present embodiment, the cathode 20 is fixed to the support base 21 connected to the negative pole of the plasma power supply 16, the five work fixtures 53 placed on the support base 21, and the respective work fixtures 53. And a plate-like workpiece 22.

  The five workpiece fixtures 53 are made of carbon steel, a bottom plate 551 placed and fixed on the support base 21, and three rod-shaped holders 530 (support rods 531 to 533) having one end attached to the bottom plate 551. And consist of The three holders 530 have support bars 531, 532, and 533 shown in FIGS. 7 and 8, respectively. Of the support rods 531 to 533, one end of each of the support rods 531 to 533 is attached to the bottom plate 551. In addition, FIG. 7 is explanatory drawing of the workpiece fixing tool 53 of a present Example. (I) shows a state in which the plate-like workpiece 22 is fixed to the workpiece fixture 53, but for explanation, the number of plate-like workpieces is three, and the position of the holder 530 is indicated by a one-dot chain line. (II) is a cross-sectional view taken along the line W-W ′ of (I) and shows a cross-sectional view at the support bar 531, but the support bars 532 and 533 have the same configuration.

  The holder 530 includes support rods 531 to 533, a cylindrical support 553, and a cylindrical spacer 554. The support bars 531 to 533 are attached to the bottom plate 551, and support tools 553 and spacers 554 are alternately inserted into the support bars 531 to 533. At this time, since the spacer 554 has a smaller diameter than the support 553, a stepped portion is generated between the support 553 and the spacer 554. The plate-like workpiece 22 is fixed to the workpiece fixture 53 by receiving the internal teeth 221 of the plate-like workpiece 22 from the lower side at this stepped portion.

  Next, the procedure for fixing the plate-like workpiece 22 to the workpiece fixture 53 of this embodiment will be described with reference to FIG.

  Of the support rods of the three holders 530, the work fixture 53 includes two support rods 531 and 532, one end of which is fixed to the bottom plate 551. It can be attached / detached by screwing the attachment / detachment hole 555. First, the holder 530 having the support rod 533 turns the workpiece fixture 53 removed from the bottom plate 551 sideways. Then, the plate-like workpiece 22 is placed on the two holders 530 having the support bars 531 and 532 so as to be parallel to the bottom plate 551. At this time, the internal teeth 221 of the plate-like workpiece 22 are hung on the stepped portion resulting from the outer diameter difference between the support 553 and the spacer 554 (see FIG. 8 (IV)). When the desired number of plate-like workpieces 22 are hung, a holder 530 having a support bar 533 is inserted into the inner peripheral side of the plate-like workpiece 22 (see FIG. 8 (III)). Then, after the stepped portion provided in the holder 530 having the support bar 533 is hung on the internal teeth 221 of the plate-like workpiece (see FIG. 8 (IV)), the support bar 533 and the bottom plate 551 are connected by the attachment / detachment hole 555. Screw together. After that, by turning the workpiece fixing tool 53 in the horizontal direction vertically, the internal teeth 221 of the plate-like workpiece 22 are received from the lower side by the step portion so that the plate-like workpiece 22 is parallel to the bottom plate 551. It is fixed to the work fixture 53 in a stacked state. The bottom plate 551 is fixed to the support base 21.

  The interval between the opposing surfaces of the two plate-like workpieces 22 adjacent in the vertical direction was 10 mm. At this time, 100 plate-like workpieces 22 can be fixed to one workpiece fixture 53, and a total of 500 plate-like workpieces 22 are fixed in the apparatus.

  An amorphous carbon film was formed in the same manner as in Example 1 by operating the amorphous carbon film forming apparatus having the above configuration. In the apparatus of this example, a sheath was formed along the plate-like workpiece 22, the sheath width was 5 mm, and stable discharge was obtained. The film thickness distribution of the obtained amorphous carbon film was uniform.

＜板状ワークの歪みについて＞
図１７は、アモルファス炭素膜の成膜前にホットプレスを施した板状ワーク（実施例２の板状ワーク２２に相当）の歪み量の変化を示すグラフである。また、図１８は、アモルファス炭素膜の成膜後にホットプレスを施した板状ワーク（実施例５の板状ワーク４２に相当）の歪み量の変化を示すグラフである。板状ワークの歪み量は、それぞれ初期（ホットプレスも成膜も行われていない状態）、ホットプレス後、成膜後に測定した。

<Distortion of plate workpiece>
FIG. 17 is a graph showing changes in the strain amount of a plate-like workpiece (corresponding to the plate-like workpiece 22 of Example 2) subjected to hot pressing before the formation of the amorphous carbon film. FIG. 18 is a graph showing changes in the strain amount of a plate-like workpiece (corresponding to the plate-like workpiece 42 of Example 5) subjected to hot pressing after the formation of the amorphous carbon film. The amount of distortion of the plate-like workpiece was measured at the initial stage (in a state where neither hot pressing nor film formation was performed), after hot pressing, and after film formation.

  The amount of distortion of the plate-like workpiece was measured by using a dial gauge to place the plate-like workpiece on a rotatable surface plate and rotating the plate-like workpiece while the plate-like workpiece was rotated.

  When hot pressing was performed on the plate-shaped workpiece before the amorphous carbon film was formed, the distortion that had occurred in the initial plate-shaped workpiece could be corrected, and the occurrence of distortion after film formation could be prevented. (FIG. 17). In addition, when hot pressing was performed after forming an amorphous carbon film on the plate-like workpiece, the umbrella-shaped distortion generated on the plate-like workpiece by the film formation could be effectively alleviated (FIG. 18). At this time, the amorphous carbon film on the surface of the plate-like workpiece did not deteriorate due to oxidation, and neither peeling nor cracking occurred.

11: Deposition furnace (chamber)
2a, 2b, 22, 42: Plate-like workpieces 3a, 3b, 23, 43, 53: Work fixtures 230, 430, 530: Holders 31, 32: Gas nozzle 16: Plasma power supply 25: Sheath 100: Press device

Claims (6)

An amorphous carbon film forming apparatus for forming an amorphous carbon film on the surface of a conductive plate-like workpiece by plasma CVD,
A deposition furnace;
A plurality of workpiece fixtures that hold a plurality of plate workpieces in a stacked state in parallel and in the vertical direction, are arranged in a ring shape at equal intervals in the furnace chamber of the film forming furnace, and are connected to the negative electrode,
A nozzle configured to include at least one at the center of the work fixture arranged in a ring shape and a plurality arranged in a ring shape at equal intervals on the centrifugal direction side;
At least a plasma power source connected to the work fixture;
An amorphous carbon film forming apparatus comprising:   The amorphous carbon film forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein an interval between opposing surfaces of the two plate-like workpieces adjacent in the vertical direction is 2 to 30 mm.   The amorphous carbon film forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the work fixture has a rod-like holder that holds at least a part of the plate-like work.   The amorphous carbon film forming apparatus according to claim 3, wherein the work fixture has at least three rod-like holders, and the plate-like work is held by at least three places by the holders.   The said plate-shaped workpiece is ring-shaped, Comprising: The amorphous part as described in any one of Claims 1-4 with which the inner part and / or outer side part of this ring-shaped plate-shaped workpiece are hold | maintained by the said workpiece fixing tool. Carbon film deposition equipment.   The amorphous carbon film forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the plate-like workpiece is a clutch plate.

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